tillhöra

Tillhöra is a Swedish verb meaning to belong to or to be a member of something. It is used for possessions as well as affiliations, such as a person belonging to a family, a book belonging to someone, or an institution or group to which someone or something is attached. The subject of a sentence is the thing that belongs, and the owner or belonging relation is expressed directly: “Boken tillhör mig” (The book belongs to me), “Huset tillhör kommunen” (The house belongs to the municipality), or “Hon tillhör partiet” (She belongs to the party).

Grammatically, tillhöra is a regular verb with the present tense tillhör, past tense tillhörde, and supine tillhört. The present participle is tillhörande. The related noun is tillhörighet (belonging, affiliation) and the adjective tilhörande (belonging, part of). There is also a related phrase, höra till, used in idiomatic expressions to denote that something is part of a group or a customary practice, for example det hör till traditionen (that is part of the tradition).

Common usage covers ownership and membership, as in everyday speech and formal writing. It can describe geographic belonging (which country or region something belongs to) as well as social or organizational affiliation. The distinction between tillhöra and höra till is subtle but practical: tillhöra tends to denote a direct belonging relationship, while höra till is often used idiomatically to express that something is part of a broader set or tradition.